The present invention relates to reinforced shelves having corner collars with inner sleeves that are generally mounted onto upstanding support posts in such a manner that the shelves are supported in adjustable relation. The shelves may be assembled and adjusted without tooling.
Adjustable shelving is disclosed in prior patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,705, wherein a frusto-conical sleeve is positioned at each corner of a wire shelf formed by longitudinally extending members and transversely extending members that have been welded together. Such corner sleeves have internal inwardly extending ridges or rims that engage grooves in upstanding support posts. The position of the sleeves, and the shelf, may be varied depending upon the post grooves selected to mate the sleeves. Additionally, the height of the posts may be adjusted upwardly or downwardly via adjustable feet threadedly associated with the posts. A snake-like frame surrounds the outer front, rear and side edges of the wire shelf. However, the wire shelves shown in this prior patent are not reinforced at the front edge by a longitudinal reinforcing bar attached along its length to the end portions of the transversely extending members and connected at each end to a corner collar.
Various other wire shelf unit designs are shown in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. Des. 185,801; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 215,773; U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 289,479; 3,138,123; 3,208,408; 3,316,864; 3,225,720; 3,424,111; 3,523,508; 4,991,725 and 5,221,014. None of these patents, however, discloses a shelf reinforced at the front edge by a longitudinal reinforcing bar attached along its length to the end portions of the transversely extending members and connected at each end to a corner collar.